Abstract:
Background: Globally the increasing diversity in the population has led to concerns over
disparities in health status between diverse patient populations. Language and cultural issues can
have a significant impact on health disparities when not addressed by health care organizations.
Even though disparity in health care increase very few studies have provided the opportunity for
researchers to explore the issue of culturally and linguistically appropriate health care in a broad
and organized fashion throughout the worldwide and none of them done across the country.
Objectives: - To explore cultural sensitiveness in health care delivery of Jimma university specialized and
teaching hospital.
Methods: Institution based qualitative study was employed in JUSTH among 10 key informants
(administrative and health workers) purposively selected from different service areas and 10 patients
selected through purposive random sampling from different backgrounds. Data were collected using
unstructured questionnaire through In-depth interview and analyzed by using ATLAS.ti7.1. Open Coding
was carried out line-by-line. Following the coding process, family coding, themes and theoretical
constructs were developed from both the field notes and the interview transcripts.
Result: One of the most prominent challenges identified by this study is the image of cultural and
linguistic sensitive diverse patients need care is not come to hospital plan image, which often results in a
lack of financial and other resources for culture and language service. Developing supportive
infrastructure, work force, data collecting and using, community engagement, organizational relationship,
integrating cultural need into organizational planning, accommodating the specific need of patients and
helping patients to manage their care are the major activities expected from the hospital as the study
participants to deliver cultural sensitive/ appropriate care for diverse patient populations.
Conclusion: without cultural appropriate health care services it is difficult for the hospital to deliver
patient centered non disparity quality health service. For health care organizations to deliver patient
centered non-disparity health service there must be conceptual framework guide the health care
organization to develop a cohesive message about meeting the needs of diverse patient populations and
better communicate this vision to staff, clients, and the public. Thus framework must develop based on the
culture of the clients/ community served at the health care organization and medical indication of the
patient cases.
